


Ghosts of the Past

by Alja



Series: The Road to the Keyblade War [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Lea POV, hinted Sokai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-20 17:43:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11340264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alja/pseuds/Alja
Summary: (Spoilers for 0.2!) As the final clash between the Seekers of Darkness and Guardians of Light drew nearer, Lea and Kairi practiced relentlessly every day, honing their skills and training their bodies. But having spent so many years as a Nobody, Lea didn’t expect that his heart might not be as strong as the rest of him.





	Ghosts of the Past

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TuesdayinThedas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TuesdayinThedas/gifts).



Lea stared at his hands in concentration, focusing on the tips of his fingers as he slightly flexed them.

Nothing happened.

 _Feel the magic flow through your body,_ Aqua had said, so Lea took a deep breath and closed his eyes again. He slightly adjusted his cross-legged position on the mat underneath him and let his hands, palms up, rest on his knees gently, trying to concentrate on any ice magic that was swirling through his veins.

It was easier said than done.

Fire magic was no problem for him. After all, it was his chosen element and it came as naturally to him as breathing. He also effortlessly cast cure on the growing bump on his head after his last training battle against Kairi – her swings are a force to be reckoned with, a stark contrast to her delicate figure. He was even able to detect a hint of thunder magic that was ready to cackle at the tips of his fingers at his demand. But Blizzard? It eluded him like Fire magic eluded the red head in the other corner of this room, trying desperately to summon a ball of fire between her palms.

Lea sighed and cracked an eye open to throw a glance over to where Aqua was sitting. A collection of papers and documents was spread over her desk while the young woman hunched over it rubbed her eye and tried to hide her occasional yawns.

It seemed that Ice magic eluded him like sleep seemed to elude Master Aqua.

With the knowledge that Xehanort might start targeting the Princesses of Heart any day, everyone did their best and worked extra hard to be prepared for the worst. Stress and exhaustion were the result and Aerith who had assumed the role of everybody's mom was busy forcing people to eat, sleep and rest whenever they pushed themselves too hard.

However, Aqua's status as Master put Aerith in a predicament. While the two women got along pretty well (he hadn't met anyone who didn't get along with Aqua, really), Lea saw the conflict in Aerith's eyes whenever Aqua had pulled another all-nighter. No matter how well Aqua blended in, nobody felt like they had the authority to tell her what to do, so they were stuck seeing her work too hard and get too little rest every day. And judging by the amount of concealer that was caked under her eyes, Lea assumed she was _incredibly_ tired.

A gentle touch on his shoulder pulled Lea out of his reverie and he was met with a pair of ocean blue eyes that looked down upon him.

“You’re distracted”, Aqua stated bluntly. Lea had the decency to look embarrassed, but Aqua continued to smile at him encouragingly with her hands resting on her knees.

“Try to clear your mind again. Your Fire Magic is so in tune with your emotions that it might cancel out any hint of Blizzard building inside of you.” She lightly cocked her head. “Do you want me to help you?”

“Please,” he nodded and with a short nod in return, Aqua wordlessly knelt down in front of him, curled her legs under her body, straightened her spine and came to rest with a deep breath.

“Close your eyes and clear your mind,” she instructed him and his eyelids fluttered close immediately, “and as soon as you’re ready, give me your hands.”

Lea let his hands rest on his knees once again and took a deep breath through his nose, exhaling through his lips, just like she had instructed them this morning: in and out. Focusing on nothing else than the air traveling into his lungs and the motions of his ribcage, he felt a sense of tranquility wash over him as he freed his mind of all thoughts. Automatically, his hands rose slowly, palms down, and he immediately felt a pair of cool hands touch his.

“Concentrate on my magic flowing beneath your hands,” Aqua muttered softly, intend to not disrupt Lea’s focus, and he felt her hands let go of his again, although they seemed to hover under his palms. A weird sensation hit him, as if cold air was touching him. First his hands, then every single finger, like an ocean wave that washed coolness up and down his palms. Soon, the cold spread into his forearms, slowly cooling his body down and – there!

Deep inside his heart he felt a pull.

Lea furrowed his brows and tried to concentrate on that feeling, and at the same time, he felt the cold waves on his hands ebbing away like Aqua stopped her magic pull on him. The feeling lingered however and he felt the subtle coolness that started in his heart spread through his chest into his arms up to his wrists – where it suddenly stopped.

Lea grid his teeth. He was so close! All he needed was a little push to spread the sensation into his fingers and out of his fingertips and –

“Lea!! Watch out!”

Ripping his eyes open, Lea turned his head to the source of the scream only to see a little fire ball fly towards him. He was too perplex to use his own fire magic to control and avert the flame and before he had a chance to yelp, the fireball brushed over the tips of his hair, setting a few strands on fire. He frantically threw his hands up, ready to put out the fire, when he suddenly felt a surge of coldness race through his body. Before he realized it, a heap of snow exploded at the tip of his fingers and flopped down onto his head, effectively putting out the fire. He shuddered as a dribble of melted snow slid down his neck and into his shirt.

“I am so, _so_ sorry, Lea! Are you alright?”

Furiously rubbing his neck to get rid of the cold sensation, Lea looked up to see Kairi skid to a halt in front of him before she bent down to examine him with concern. Aqua was right on her heels.

“It’s okay!” Lea answered her with a dismissive hand gesture, “I’ve had worse!”  
“No, it’s not okay!” Kairi persisted, grasping the seam of her dress, “You might be wounded! I should run a cure over you just to be sure.”

“It was an accident,” Lea insisted, but after he saw the determined look on Kairi's face that told him she wasn't going to let it slide, he deliberately added a “Princess”. It was a nickname he had adopted for her whenever he wanted to get a rise out of her and damn, did he want to get it out of her now. After having caused her enough grief in the past, he couldn't handle her being worried for him, he rather dealt with her feisty personality. Thankfully, the nickname worked like a charm: Immediately, Kairi's concern morphed into a frown and she huffed in indignation.

“This Princess will ram her flowery Keyblade into your stomach if you won't stop calling me that!”

Her expression softened however when Aqua touched her shoulder lightly before kneeling down in front of Lea.

“May I?”

She gently took Lea’s head between her hands and examined his hairline thoroughly.

“You’re alright, I can't see any burns. The tips of your hair are a little singed, though.”  
She leaned back on her legs, concern gone and amusement written all over her face as her mouth twitched in an unsuccessful attempt to hold back her chuckle.

“I think this was the most unusual way I saw someone gain control over magic. But it worked, so I won’t complain. Though, next time,” her eyes swayed from Lea to Kairi and back again while humor tingled in them, “I might have to pull up some kind of spell protective wall between the two of you.”

Aqua effortlessly rose back to stand and threw a glance to the other side of the room at the clock and then held out her hand to help Lea up. Together with Kairi she pulled him up and both students straightened in front of their Master to await further instructions.

“It’s nearly time for lunch. I suggest you two go and catch a breath. After lunch, we’ll continue with general magic training. Now that you both succeeded in summoning Blizzard and Fire, respectively, you'll have to train using them.”

“Aren’t you coming to lunch, too?” Kairi asked their Master, but Aqua simply shook her head.

“Not today,” Aqua responded with an apologetic smile, “I'm supposed to meet Lord Ansem in twenty minutes and I still have to read this one paper.” She vaguely gestured at the desk before continuing. “I’ll grab something on my way. But thank you for asking, Kairi. Now go, you two, enjoy your break!”

“Yes, Master!”, Kairi and Lea both answered in unison, bowed slightly and then and exited their makeshift classroom into the Borough.

A few steps into the courtyard, Lea broke into a long yawn and began to stretch his numb limbs.

“Gee, no wonder the Master’s always tired if she stays in that stuffy room all the time.”

“So you noticed.”

“Huh?”

Propping his arms on his hips, Lea turned around to see that Kairi had stopped a few meters behind him, her eyebrows furrowed and her arms folded in front of her chest. She lifted her gaze then to stare back at the building behind her, but caught up to Lea before she resumed.

“You noticed that Master Aqua’s perpetually tired.”

“Yeah, well, it’s kind of hard to miss when we’re in the same room ten hours a day! And it’s even harder to miss when she helps us correct our stances.” He started to scratch the back of his head a little helplessly as his gaze started to wander across the various flowers blooming in the courtyard. “I mean, she’s got the look down from afar, but as soon as her face is close enough, it’s hard to ignore the layers of make up under her eyes. And I should know,” he pointed at his eyes, “I don't naturally wake up like this.”

“I am very aware of that”, Kairi replied with a roll of her eyes, though the corners of her lips were curled upwards, “I see you every morning at breakfast.” She chuckled at his halfhearted pout, but sobered up quickly.

“I’m worried about her. Isn’t there anything we can do?”

“Apart from putting her under a Sleep spell which would probably only last for a second since neither of us is trained in using it? I doubt it.”

Lea continued walking towards the residential area when he suddenly felt a sharp stabbing sensation under his right shoulder blade.

Damn. He _was_ getting old.

As inconspicuously as possible, he crossed his arms behind his head, wiggling around from side to side to work out the kink in his back, but apparently Kairi was way too distracted to notice. Instead, she spoke about Aqua again.

“She is working too much. Whenever we train on our own and don't need her constant supervision, she buries herself in Lord Ansem's notes. If she starts to drop meals now, too –“

“Don't you think you're exaggerating? The Master's a grown woman, she can look after herself.”

This only made the young girl frown and glower at Lea.

“She can, but she doesn't.”

Well, he couldn't deny that.

“She’s sad, too,” Kairi continued, kicking a stone off the pavement. “She hides it really well, but I caught her off-guard once and she looked incredibly sad. I doubt she's talking about it with anyone.” She shuddered and hugged herself with a sad frown before lifting her gaze up to Lea again. “This isn't healthy.”

Lea sighed. Kairi was very empathetic, he had learned that pretty soon. It shouldn’t have surprised him with her being one of Sora's best friends. But she also was _stubborn_ , and while she meant well, he doubted he could really make things better like that.

“She's missing her friends,” Lea replied. “They're who King Mickey and Riku are currently searching for, right? She's pretty much alone right now, from her perspective. I mean, think about it, didn't you feel miserable about Sora and Riku missing?”

He saw Kairi bite her lip nervously.

“I felt horrible,” she admitted, “no matter how much Selphie, Tidus or Wakka tried to cheer me up or distract me. I kept thinking about them.”

“And you jumped at the first opportunity to find them. Master Aqua is pretty much stuck here because of her duties, but she, too, jumped at the opportunity to help Lord Ansem –,” he scrunched his eyebrows together in thought, “well, in whatever he's doing. Apparently she thinks it might help.”

“She is still overworking herself. It won't end well if she keeps this up.”

“Some day, she'll fall asleep at her desk if she continues like this,” Lea agreed and was about to continue when from the corner of his eyes a wiggling bush caught his attention. The head of a very familiar spiky haired teen popped up from within the bush and said teen wore a big grin on his lips as he pointed at Kairi and then brought his pointer finger back to his lips to shush the man.

Lea grinned diabolically in response and tried to pick up his conversation as seamlessly as possible to give the teen time to strike.

“Once she does fall asleep, we'll just fetch Aerith and let her handle the Master. I'm pretty sure once she sees the Master all exhausted, she will drop her hesitance and chew her out like everyone else.”

He saw Kairi cock her head and put her hand on her chin in thought, totally oblivious to the boy who was creeping closer to her. “You know what? This might actually work.”

“Of course it will work. Anyway,” Lea spoke up again, catching both’s attention, and flipped his thumb up as a sign for the teen to strike, “I’m starving, let’s _go_.”

Kairi nodded in agreement.

“Alrig-wah!!”

A high pitched shriek resounded from Kairi as the boy grabbed her by her hips from behind to lift her up and spin her around a few times.

“Congratulations! You’re an official Keyblade Wielder now!”

Kairi frantically whipped her head around to catch a glimpse of her 'attacker'.

“S-Sora?!”

“The one and only!”

Sora gently lowered her to the ground again and mirroring his huge grin, Kairi immediately spun to meet him.

“What are you doing here? Is everything alright?”

“Everything is perfect!” He answered, waving her concerns off as he beamed at her. “Well, as perfect as can be given the circumstances. But! You’re a Keyblade Wielder now!” Excitedly, Sora threw his arm around Kairi's shoulders and pulled her close so their heads pressed together which caused Kairi to giggle happily as she half-hugged him back.

“I can't let you and Riku take all the glory after all, now, can I?” She asked him with a hint of humor in her voice and Sora hummed in agreement.

“I guess you're right!” Sora laughed and then sighed wistfully. “Soon, we’ll be able to travel the worlds together, just like we always dreamed! Three friends, three Keyblade Wielders! We’re basically the modern Terra, Ven and Aqua!”

“Modern? Please!” Lea scoffed and stared incredulously at Sora as he crossed his arms pointedly, “You act like Master Aqua’s an old woman. She’s what, two or three years older than you?”

“Well, technically, she’s 15 years older than me.”

“That doesn’t make her old, though,” Kairi chimed in, before looking confused.  
“Terra and Ven? You mean her friends?”

“Yes! They were all students under the same master. Well, you were Master Yen Sid’s student for a few weeks, so that counts, too, right?”

With a smile on his lips, Sora closed his eyes and let his head loll against Kairi’s again.

“Where do you wanna go first? I bet you’d love the sunset in Twilight Town. Or Halloween Town! Yeah, that’s where we’ll go!” His smile turned into an evil smirk that went unnoticed by the girl next to him. “I have a surprise for Riku there. Boy, will _he_ be sorry…”

“Just don’t go and get yourselves missing while Kairi gets thrown into the Realm of Darkness”, Lea remarked somewhat dryly which earned him a pout from Sora. “Modern day trio good and well, but you don’t have to copy them.”

Raising his free arm, the boy flipped his pointer finger up and waved it around in dismissal.

“Been there, done that! Well, partly at least. You see, Terra and Riku both gave into their darkness and have been used by Xehanort and his heartless, respectively. And obviously, Xehanort tried the same with me.” He raised another finger. “Aqua was stuck in the Realm of Darkness, just like Riku was, although thankfully, it didn’t take him 13 years to get out again.” He shuddered shortly, then raised yet another finger. “Ven is still sleeping, just like I was in the Old Mansion in Twilight Town, though thankfully, nobody forgot about _him_.”

Carefully, Kairi untangled herself from Sora's grip and took a step back. Her solemn expression didn't go unnoticed by the two males and both eyed her questioningly.

“How do I fit in there?” She asked, her eyes barely meeting Sora's and definitely avoiding Lea's. “You and Riku seem to have accomplished everything the 'original' trio has gone through.”

Lea saw Sora's face soften at that and all of a sudden, he had the feeling that he was imposing on a quite intimate moment between the teens as Sora gently took Kairi's hands into his own.

“You’re like Aqua who always protects her friends! She protected Ven from Xehanort and continues to do so even today. And yeah,” he grimaced and shrugged his shoulders, “saving a Xehanort-possessed Terra _probably_ wasn't the best choice on her behalf. Globally speaking. But she did it to save her friend.” He untangled one of his hands and started to rummage in one of his pant's pockets while continuing to speak.

“You, too, protected me. Back when I was a heartless. I might have tried to steal your heart but you protected me. You even managed to return my heart to the Light. _You_ saw through Riku’s disguise and helped me see through it, too. You helped save _him_ , too, because without you, he still might be trying to do everything on his own. And now? You’re back with a Keyblade, ready to swoop in at the right time to save us.”

“Aha!” His face lightened up as he pulled his hand out of his pocket again, Kairi's good luck charm dangling from between his thumb and pointer finger right in front of Kairi's face.

“I don't know whether you've seen it yet or not, but Aqua also made charms like this one. Out of glass and wire since she didn't have Thalassa shells, but,” he grinned, “that's another thing the two of you have in common. You're definitely the Aqua to our Terra and Ven.”

Kairi startled the boy as she threw her arms around him and buried her head into his neck.

“Thank you, Sora.”

She couldn't see the adorable blush that spread over his cheeks while he hugged her back, but Lea did and drew back a little to give them more space. It wouldn't hurt nobody to let them enjoy the moment for a few more seconds, right?

A loud growling noise that the pair in front of him was totally oblivious to erupted from his stomach.

Well, maybe it _would_ hurt _somebody_.

“Okay, I'm glad you're having a moment with your boyfriend, Princess, but I'm really starting to get hungry here.”

As if they were hit by lightning, Sora and Kairi jumped apart, cheeks flushed and embarrassment written all over their faces.

“Lea!”

Kairi pouted in indignation and stepped up to Lea to jab him into the ribs – hard enough to certainly bruise. He had to remember to run a Cure over it in the evening.

“I was genuinely sorry about earlier, but right now I'm really tempted to set your hair on fire again, you know that?”

“You did what?!”

Kairi just shrugged as she met Sora's horrified but slightly awed expression.

“It was an accident! We were both working on our magic and I lost control over my fireball and it _might_ have aimed his head.”

“And it could've burned him to death? Wow Kai, that's savage. I bet even Axel didn't do anything like that!”

Lea decided in this moment to never mention that as Axel, he actually _did_ burn Vexen to death right in front of Sora's eyes back when they were in Castle Oblivion. Thank Naminé for erasing that memory!

“No!” Kairi huffed indignantly and put her hands into her hips. “After all, Master Aqua was with us at the time and –“

“Hold on!” Sora interrupted her and waved his arms furiously around, “You guys call Aqua 'Master'?

“What else would we call her?” Lea raised his brow in question.

“Just Aqua! If you call her 'Master', you should call Riku and me 'Master', too!”

“I guess we could call Riku 'Master',” Lea mused, his forefinger tapping at his chin as he pretended to be deep in thought, “but if I remember correctly, you failed the test, didn't you?”

He saw the teen twitch from the corner of his eye and he almost felt bad about his words. Almost.

“Gee, thanks for reminding me! You better get used to calling me 'Master Sora' though,” Sora grinned and rubbed his nose proudly, “Because Master Yen Sid declared me a Master yesterday! – OUCH!”

Rubbing the back of his now throbbing head, he threw an offended glance at Kairi who had just hit him. Lea snickered.

“You're a Master and you didn't think it was important enough to mention?”

“Well, I told you now!”

“You should have told us immediately!”

“Give him a break, Kairi,” Lea finally decided to chime in before the argument had the chance to grow serious, “It probably slipped his mind over his excitement to see you and congratulate _you_.”

 _Hit the nail on the head_ , he thought as color crept up Sora's cheeks once again.

“I guess it's our turn to congratulate you,” he said and patted Sora's shoulder a little too hard, nearly throwing him off balance, “so, congratulations, _Master Sora_. Just for the record, this is the first and last time I'll call you that.”

Propping her hands up on her hips, Kairi sighed dramatically before eyeing Sora once again. “Really, Sora, what do we do with you?” She broke into a grin and reached for his hand, clasping it tightly in her own and she started to pull him after her. “We have to celebrate this immediately!”

“Celebrate what?”

The trio whirled around to see Aqua standing behind them, her satchel slung over her shoulder and a bright, genuine smile on her lips. It caught Lea off-guard; he was used to Aqua's encouraging and polite smiles, but none have ever been as bright as the one she gave Sora right now. But then again, it was just the effect Sora had on people: He made everyone feel happier with his presence alone.

“Aqua!” Sora exclaimed and yet again the teens sprung apart. “I'm an official Keyblade Master!”

“Congratulations!” Aqua responded happily and after scrutinizing the teens for another second, she continued with a wink aimed at Kairi. “I'm quite busy right now, but maybe Kairi could help me bake you a celebration cake later?”

Lea snorted not-so-subtly at the insinuation. The three of them knew very well that Aqua was a skilled baker and didn't need Kairi's help at all. Which meant that even the ever-busy Aqua noticed the sparks flying between the two teenagers.

“I'll hold you up to that,” Sora replied, oblivious to her suggestion, and he held his pointer finger up as his grin widened, “for now, we have something more important to do. More important than whatever you have planned for the rest of the day. Pack your Keyblade, we're about to rescue Ven! Where's Cid? We need a larger Gummi Ship!”

He looked around in search of the grumpy engineer and didn't even realize that Aqua's smile had slipped off her face.

“Hold on a second. What do you mean, Sora?”

“Two days ago, King Mickey and Riku have found the 'Key to return Hearts'!”

He extended his arm and summoned a slender Keyblade colored in various shades of red. The guard was heart-shaped with its tip pointing to two additional hearts carved into the base of the shaft. The teeth were formed by two wings, one black and one white, both crossing to make another heart-shape.

“With this Keyblade, we will be able to free Ven's heart from mine and return it to his body. Then, I'll be able to dive into his sleeping heart and unlock it.”

A grin spread over his face again and he folded his arms behind his head, lightly swaying right and left as he regarded the woman in front of him.

“So, all we need is a bigger Gummi Ship that has enough seats for four people and we're ready to go.”

“Four seats?”

Three pairs of eyes turned to Kairi.

“If only you and Aqua go, why do you need four seats?”

Sora visibly deflated in front of them and he pointedly avoided Kairi's gaze.

This couldn't be good.

“Master Yen Sid told me to bring Lea, too.”

Silence reigned for a few seconds.

“Why Lea? Why not me?”

Sora visibly winced and heaved a heavy sigh before raising his head again.

“Is it because I'm a Princess?” She didn't give him a chance to answer as she spoke herself into a rage. “Is that why I'm not allowed to go? Does me being a Princess mean I'm not strong enough? I'm training just as hard as Lea. I work as hard as him. What makes him more suitable for this task than me? Why did Master Yen Sid ask me to train if he doesn't deem me fit to go on a mission with not one but _two_ Keyblade Masters?!”

“It's because you are _too_ important!” Sora interrupted her and she jerked back in surprise. Sora in turn took a step towards her with his arms wide open in a desperate gesture.

“Don't you see? You are our trump card in this game Xehanort is playing with us. What do you think will happen once Xehanort has his thirteen Darknesses gathered? Whether or not we're ready he will go and attack the Princesses of Heart, thinking they are helpless. He doesn't expect you to wield a Keyblade and he even less expects you to be taught how to wield it properly. Everything that throws him off, everything little thing that might make a dent in his countless plans we have to use to our advantage. And the longer we'll be able to keep you a secret, the less time Xehanort will have adjust.”

By now, Kairi had let her head hang down in frustration. Sora gently grasped her shoulders and she looked up to him again.

“I asked Master Yen Sid. I swear I did. He insisted I bring Lea and keep you hidden here. And he's right. Without all of our Guardians together, you're our best hope in catching Xehanort off-guard and catching him off-guard is our only plan right now.”

“I know.” Kairi groaned lightly, but with a shake of her head she found her smile again, although it appeared to be a sad one.

“I'm holding you guys up. I'm sorry.” She gently brushed Sora's hands off of her shoulders and squeezed them shortly, giving him another smile before she turned to Aqua.

“Master, I will deliver your notes and explain your absence to Lord Ansem.”

With a nod, Aqua took off her satchel and handed it to Kairi.

“Thank you, Kairi.”

“Don't forget to fetch something to eat, too. Lea is pretty hungry and you need your energy, too, Master,” Kairi added and then turned back to Lea to speak to him, but he beat her to it.

“Kairi, I'm sorry –“

“No,” she shook her head and forced another smile, “I'm sorry. I was angry and I said things that I shouldn't have said –“

“And I've done despicable things in the past that nobody should ever do – not even Nobodies,” he interrupted her with a shrug and gave her a loop-sided grin. “It's fine, honestly. No offense taken. You are right to be frustrated.”

“I might be, but I'm not right in keeping you from fulfilling your mission and bringing Ven back.” She slung Aqua's satchel over her shoulder and was about to leave when she turned to Sora once more time.

“Will you come back? Or will you take off to the next world right after you're done?”

Sora shook his head furiously as he took Kairi's hand and stared at her intently.

“I'll come back. I promise.”

She smiled in return.

“Alright. Good luck to all of you.”

* * *

Ever since Lea and Kairi had arrived in Radiant Garden to start their training and thus had spread the word about the coming clash between the Guardians of Light and Xehanort's Seekers of Darkness among the Restoration Committee, Cid had started to work on a number of Gummi Ships in case they were needed in an emergency.

Cid readied one of those ships for them after Sora explained their mission to him and barely half an hour later, the three of them were able to board it. It was just as much the first time in a Gummi Ship for Aqua as it was for Lea – like him, she eyed the colorful contraption somewhat apprehensively as she took a seat in the second row of the cockpit. Sora naturally took the driver's seat and it left Lea to sit down to Aqua's right.

“So,” Sora climbed his seat, placed both of his arms on its back and lay down his chin on his arms before he eyed Aqua questioningly, “which world are we going to?”

“The Land of Departure,” Aqua answered him quietly. There was sadness in her eyes again, Lea noted, but she avoided looking at both of the men directly.

“I can't say that I've heard of it,” Sora admitted and cocked his head lightly with his eyes closed, deep in thought. Aqua shook her head in response.

“I'm not surprised. It's been over thirteen years since it's been called that. Today it goes by a different name.”

Lea raised an eyebrow in confusion, but before he was able to ask her about it, Aqua rose from her seat and materialized her Keyblade in her right hand.

“Allow me.”

Grasping the handle with both of her hands, she stretched her arms out, pointing to the outside of the ship with her Keyblade. Light gathered at its tip and culminated into a light beam that went right through the windshield, summoning a black and purple cloud in front of their Gummi Ship.

“Lead the way!” Sora threw an enthusiastic punch into the air and let himself fall into his seat, giddy to grasp the steering wheel.

“Alright, buckle up, everyone!” Sora happily exclaimed.

“We don't have seat belts –” Lea tried to correct, but Sora merrily ignored him.

“Entering and leaving those portals can be a little bumpy. Our steward Lea will be happy to provide you with food and drinks! Keep calm and enjoy the view!”

“Shut up, Sora!” Lea retorted with a huge grin and he could swear that Sora was grinning just as widely as he playfully hit him over the head with one of the sandwiches they had brought.

“Here,” he handed one to Aqua as well which she gratefully accepted, but she didn’t make any attempt at unwrapping and eating it. He frowned but chose not to comment on it and instead, he began eating his own share, propping up his elbow on his arm rest and leaning his head on his hand to stare into the mesmerizing colors of the Lanes Between.

* * *

A sudden vibration jerked Lea awake, causing him to punch himself in the face. Slightly disoriented from the punch, he looked around in confusion, rubbing his throbbing jaw.

“-sure this is the right world?”

The ship had touched down on the world. Sora was in the process of turning off all engines and turned to Aqua who already slipped out of her seat.

“I am,” she answered shortly, nearly breathlessly as she hurried towards the ship’s exit with Sora right on her heels.

With a low curse Lea jumped out of his seat as well, running outside after his two companions, but he felt the blood run cold in his veins as he saw the worn bronze walls and teal roofs of the castle in front of him.

This couldn't be real.

He jogged the distance over to Aqua and Sora who had halted a few steps in front of the castle and looked for an explanation. Sora seemed just as confused as he was, changing his glance from the castle to Aqua and back while the latter simply stared at the castle with a determined expression.

“Master?” Lea chewed on his lip for a second before he continued. “What are we doing here? This is Castle Oblivion, right?”

The woman in question turned to him and a shiver ran down his back at the seriousness that she emanated. While he always respected her, something about this situation made him feel like he was standing in front of a full-fledged Keyblade Master for the first time.

“Thirteen years ago, Terra, Ven and I fought against Xehanort. Xehanort took control over Terra's body. Ven's heart fell asleep and I ended up in the Realm of Darkness.”

She turned around fully now, facing both Lea and Sora. Lea unconsciously straightened his spine and from the corner of his eye, he saw Sora do the same thing as both listened intently.

“Before I got lost, I brought Ven to Master Yen Sid's where I found out about his sleeping heart and that he wouldn't be able to wake up without it. I had to keep him safe somewhere. Even though asleep, he was still able to summon his Keyblade and opened a portal – to our homeland. To the Land of Departure.”

Aqua closed her eyes and turned back to the castle.

“That’s where I hid him. I hid him in the very same castle that was our home.”

“Castle?! Th-that means–!”

She nodded at Sora's outburst.

“Castle Oblivion is my creation. I transformed the land to keep Ven and the neutral ground our home was built upon safe. All who visit this land will be lost to oblivion, none ever able to solve the mystery. None, except me.“

She pushed the bronze door open without so much as a gentle touch, both double doors opening easily and silently, so unlike the slow creaking they used to open with when Axel and others of Organization XIII had taken command of the building.

The _true_ Master of the Castle had returned.

The group entered the inside carefully, doors closing behind them automatically, making Lea and Sora jump a little in surprise.

“I’m sorry I've kept this to myself until now,” Aqua spoke up again, halfway turning to the boys. “I've trusted someone with this secret before and I wasn't going to make that mistake again. Not even with Master Yen Sid. I couldn't put Ven into this kind of danger again.”

“He seemed to have guess it anyway, though,” Lea mused and tapped his finger to his chin as he followed Aqua's lead again. Her steps were less hurried this time and more of a bold stride, reflecting her authority over the Castle. “It would explain why he wanted you to take me with you instead of Kairi apart from her being a Princess of Heart and all. You know, since I've been here before and since I could navigate this place if I had to.”

“You were here with... Organization XIII, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, if Master Yen Sid had expected this, he could've told _me_!” Sora crossed his arms in front of his chest and huffed in indignation. “It would've saved me the trouble with Kairi!”

To Lea's surprise, Aqua raised her closed hand to her lips as a soft chuckle escaped them. The seriousness in her eyes had been replaced by mirth for a moment.

“Don't worry about it, Sora. As long as you keep your promise and return with us tonight, she'll be fine.”

He still grumbled in response, but otherwise said nothing. They had left the entrance hall behind them when suddenly, a thought struck Lea.

“Who did you trust with Ven's location? Was it Xemnas?”

Aqua looked over her shoulder in surprise, confusion written over her face.

“Xemnas? Who's that?”

“He means Xehanort's Nobody,” Sora chimed in before grimacing, “... and I guess by extension that makes him Terra's Nobody, too.”

“Oh.”

Aqua's step faltered for a second and Lea caught a glimpse of her grief-stricken face before she marched on again, navigating the maze of rooms as if it didn't exist in the first place.

“Well. I think so,” she answered them. “We – I met him in the Realm of Darkness, once. Terra, I mean. Since his body was still in the Realm of Light, he was only able to contact me thanks to his connection to Xehanort and that on the other hand enabled Xehanort to take control of Terra during out conversation without me noticing. He asked about Ven's whereabouts and naturally, I answered Terra.”

“And you told him about the Chamber of Waking.”

Aqua turned back around in horror and stopped, nearly causing Sora to walk in on her.

“How did you know?!”

“Xemnas claimed he wanted to use this Castle as a research facility, but in reality, he was obsessed with an ominous room called the Chamber of Waking. He made me search the entire castle for this chamber, but I never found its location.” Lea shrugged dismissively. “I don't think he ever found it, either. I don't even think he ever visited this world on his own.”

The tension melted off of Aqua's shoulders at that and she nodded.

“This world holds lots of memories. For Terra and for Xehanort. I wouldn't be surprised if their Nobody refused to visit this place.”

They continued their trek through the castle, accompanied only by the sound of their echoing footsteps. Just like Aqua had said, she was the only one able to solve the mystery. Without a moment of hesitation, she led them through the rooms, seemingly turning at random and crossing rooms twice, somehow knowing that the hallway they needed to traverse would only appear once they entered the room for a second time. She managed to find ways that had taken Axel hours on end to discover.

Lea threw a side glance at Sora who had been uncharacteristically silent. The young man looked a little pale as he kept up the pace and Lea furrowed his brows in concern.

“Hey, Sora. You okay? Still angry with Master Yen Sid?”

“No,” Sora answered, closing his eyes for a second as he took a sharp breath, “I just feel... weird. I know I've been here before and everything feels familiar, but at the same time, it's creepy because I can't remember a single thing. Well, except for the few seconds Roxas showed me from when he was here before he lost consciousness.”

“Huh,” Lea answered, trying to hide the stab in his heart that the mention of his late best friend caused him, “yeah. I don't feel particularly chipper in here, either. Can't wait to get out and leave this place behind once and for all. No offense, Master.”

Aqua didn't answer, she just waved him off. Her body seemed to grow stiffer with every step now and Lea had the feeling that they were nearing their destination. Finally, after another long hallway and a sharp turn right, the three of them reached another huge double door, just as white the entire interior of the castle.

“We're here,” Aqua announced finally, stretching her arm out towards the door, but she hesitated at the last second and drew it back to her body. She inhaled sharply.

“This is the room I hid Ven in. We should talk about how we're going to proceed from here.”

She eyed both of her companions before she continued.

“I will use the Key to Return Hearts to locate and free Ven's heart from inside of Sora's. This will be our most vulnerable moment since Sora and I will be occupied. That's when you, Lea, will have to be ready to battle anything and anyone who might want to interrupt us. I don't expect anything to happen, but Master Yen Sid is right. We'd better be safe than sorry.”

Lea nodded.

“After that, Sora will be the one who will dive into Ven's heart to awaken it.”

“Yep!” Sora added enthusiastically.

“And after that... I _hope_ he'll be back with us.”

She took a final deep breath and pushed the last double door open, revealing a room that was just as white as every other room they had passed in this castle. Contrary to the stucco that decorated the other rooms, the walls of this room were adorned with chain patterns and symbols that resembled the one Aqua was wearing on her belt.

The only furniture in the entire room was a tall, equally white throne with its back rest facing the entrance to the room. Aqua quickly marched towards the throne and immediately knelt down in front of it, reaching out for the person who was presumably sitting on it.

“Ven!”

Exchanging a quick glance, Lea and Sora followed Aqua into the room, both hesitating to walk around the throne to look at the boy they were supposed to save and instead letting Aqua have a moment with him alone.

“I'm sorry, I broke my promises. I'm late and I didn't come back with Terra, but I brought two other friends to wake you up. And together, we'll search for Terra, okay?”

She looked up at them from her kneeling position and stood up again, taking a few steps back to make space for all of them in front of Ven. Lea and Sora immediately followed her lead and stood beside her as Lea heard a strangled gasp from Sora. He understood it when he laid his eyes upon the sleeping boy in front of them.

At this moment, his heart seemed to stop beating for a second because Ven looked exactly like Roxas.

“This – this is Ven?!” He heard Sora ask incredulously, but it sounded like he was submerged under water. Everything seemed to slow down, felt number and heavier while the beating of his heart sped up again.

“Yes, this is my friend Ven,” Aqua answered, hugging herself as her eyes didn't leave Ven's form.

That was impossible, right? Roxas was Sora's Nobody, a part of Sora and thus so vital for his existence that they barely could exist separately.

But then why would this boy named Ven look like a perfect copy of Roxas?!

“Sora?”

A sudden flash of light pulled Lea out of his thoughts and he saw that Sora had summoned the Key to Return Hearts and handed it to Aqua. Judging by the fleeting looks he darted at Ven, he was just as confused by his appearance as he was.

“Are both of you ready?”

Lea shook his head harshly. He had no time to think about that now, he had to make sure that nobody interrupted the extraction!

“Ready,” he agreed, letting his eyes scout the entire room. They lingered on the blond boy sitting on the throne, his head hanging down low so that most of his hear obstructed his face, and he had to pinch his arm to force himself to look away again.

But what if it _was_ Roxas?

Twitchy as he was, he started patrolling the room to suppress his jumbled thoughts. Both Aqua and Sora trusted him, he was not about to risk their well-being because of a stupid thought!

And yet, every time his eyes scanned the vicinity, they inevitably lingered on Roxas's look alike.

Finally, a brilliant light distracted him as it illuminated the already bright room. A small, unmoving red heart floated in the air in front of the Key to Return Hearts. Sora heaved, grasping his now slightly emptier chest as Aqua slowly turned, her extended arms holding the Keyblade tightly as she maneuvered the heart over to Ven – _Roxas?_ – until it hovered right over his chest and slowly melded into it, the light dulling as it was obscured by the teen's body. Once inside, it started to illuminate the boy's pale skin, instantly making it seem more healthy and radiant.

Aqua slumped to the floor, her breathing labored and a thin layer of sweat covered her forehead. Lea forced himself to tear his eyes away from the boy.

“You two okay?”

“I'm okay,” Aqua huffed, releasing the Keyblade. She looked over to Sora, one eye squeezed shut as she wiped her forehead with the back of her arm.

“Sora?”

“I'm fine,” he replied, but his attention was focused on his own body as he patted his chest down, “I just feel kind of... empty I guess. Different.”

“Do you need a break?”

“No, I'm good. I'm ready.”

Sora took a deep exhale and just like that his trademark grin was on his face again. “Alright, let's do this!” He offered Aqua his hand which she gratefully took and pulled her back up. She walked a few steps back, next to Lea and nodded at Sora who nodded in response.

“Good luck.”

The Kingdom Key materialized in his right hand and with a quick swipe of his Keyblade, he summoned a large orange sphere in front of the teen's body. A portal to his heart, just as the one Riku had summoned back when Sora was trapped in his nightmare.

“See you soon!”

With that, Sora disappeared and silence spread in the room. Once again, Lea was alone with his thoughts and as expected, they went to a very dangerous place again.

He eyed the blond teenager in front of them. Admittedly, his clothes seemed a little different to the ones Roxas used to wear outside of his Organization attire – the pants were just a tad too short, reaching his mid thighs instead of his ankles and there were random pieces of armor attached to his clothes – but the most distinctive difference was in his wristband. It also bore a checkered design, but its edges were white. Lea could _swear_ they had been black.

And his physical features?

Since half of his face was hidden by his hair, it was hard to compare Roxas's and Ven's faces, but they looked similar enough. More importantly, their hair _was_ identical; it was the same wind swept hair style, the same shade of blond. Maybe his eyebrows were a little light for Roxas?

So... what if this _was_ Roxas and not Ven? Was it really impossible? After all, Castle Oblivion was where they had found Naminé, right? Maybe Roxas found a way to be reborn and he appeared here, just like Naminé had? He had started to grow a heart of his own, so it would make sense that Aqua could have extracted _his_ heart from Sora, right?

Lea's head started to spin.

Maybe it happened when Xehanort has tried to turn Sora into his last vessel. Maybe – maybe Roxas was sleeping because Sora was asleep when he had been formed again! Maybe –

“Sora!”

Pulled out of his thoughts by Aqua's exclamation, Lea focused on the boy again. The portal had reappeared in front of Ven's heart and Sora started to stumble out of it. He quickly jumped up to catch the slightly disoriented boy who immediately answered Aqua's concerned glance with a loop-sided grin and a thumbs up before he blacked out.

“Sora!”

The green flash of a Cure spell washed over Sora's body, also caressing Lea's fingers where he was holding the boy. He shook his head at his Master.

“It's okay,” Lea explained, slightly breathless since he felt like his own head might start spinning any second again, “he's not hurt. Riku was out of it, too, after he returned from Sora's dreams. Go to–“ he couldn't say his name, he just couldn't make it pass his lips, “your friend,” he said instead. “I'll take care of Sora.”

Lea barely heard Aqua's breath of “Thank you” as she already slid over to the throne. Lea on the other hand forced himself to ignore the spectacle, to ignore his hopes and focus on the unconscious boy in his arms.

Sora came first.

He gently lowered the boy to the ground and if he hadn't been so shaken up by the turn of events, he would have snickered at the ridiculously happy smile that was glued to the boy's face.

That was Sora for you, dead tired and yet happy that he had been able to help a friend.

A low groan caught Lea's attention. A _male_ groan that came from somewhere behind him.

His heart started to pound more quickly in his chest and he turned around so fast that he nearly gave himself a whiplash.

They had the same blue eyes.

“Ven?!”

Why didn't she stop calling him Ven?! Lea couldn't believe that he would grow irritated by his Master.

It could still be Roxas, it could still be Roxas, it could still be –

“A-Aqua?”

Aqua had just returned from the Realm of Darkness in which she had spend thirteen years. Roxas has been 'born' roughly three years ago and returned to Sora two years ago.

There was no way Roxas would be able to know Aqua.

“Ven! You're awake!”

Lea saw Aqua hug Ven fiercely and the blond first hesitantly, then just as strongly wrapped his arms around Aqua's form and squeezed back with a huge smile. She gently backed away again, cupping Ven's face in her hands, stroking wayward strands of his hair out of his eyes and letting her knuckles run along his cheeks affectionately.

“You're really awake,” she muttered incredulously before pulling him into another hug and he happily obliged again as he buried his face into her neck.

 _There was_ no _way Roxas would be able to know Aqua._

“Ugh...”

Lea automatically turned around to the source of the groan, watching with empty eyes how Sora sat up and gently rubbed his temple.

“Is Ven up yet?” He asked groggily and Lea was only to able to ball his hand into a fist and point with his thumb over his shoulder.

“He is!”

Sora lit up and jumped up immediately. He was still a little woozy from the entire procedure which caused him to stumble over his feet, but he came to a halt behind Aqua and somewhat hesitantly looked over her shoulder at Ven. The woman immediately sensed his presence and withdrew from their hug.

“Ven? This is Sora. He is the one –“

“The one who gave me a second chance,” Ven answered as a soft smile spread on his face. “You're the little boy who kept my heart safe, twice. Well,” he chuckled lightly, “you're not so little anymore I guess.”

Would Lea's heart ever stop hurting anymore?

His voice wasn't right. Ven seemingly had the same voice as Roxas, but the tone was... off. It was too high, too soft and gentle.

“Thank you so much, Sora.”

And then the inevitable happened. Ven's blue eyes fell upon Lea and recognition washed over them.

“Lea? Is that you?!”

Lea.

Roxas didn't know about Lea. He had no idea Lea had ever existed.

“It is you! Wow, I barely recognized you!”

He didn't answer. He couldn't. He had no idea how to react anymore and just kept staring back at the boy. It caused Ven to frown with a tiny, loop-sided grin.

“Didn't get it memorized, huh? I'm Ventus.”

Ventus. Now _that_ name rang an old, dusty bell.

It had been over thirteen years ago, back when he and Isa had still been somebodies. Back when their daily routine consisted of trying to sneak into Hollow Bastion. Back when he saw a wooden Keyblade fall down in the Central Square of Radiant Garden after it had slipped out of the hands of a sulking blond boy sitting on the ground.

“ _I'm Lea. Got it memorized? What's your name?”_

“ _... Ventus.”_

“ _Okay, Ventus. Let's fight!”_

“Ventus,” Lea murmured and the huge smile that spread on Ven's face that was so similar to Roxas's but yet _not Roxas's_ made his stomach churn.

“That's right! But my friends call me Ven! And we were friends, right?”

He tried to swallow the huge lump in his throat and simply nodded instead of answering. To his relief, Ven looked around the room right after, confusion and hurt crossing his expression, and Lea chose this moment to silently back out of the room.

“Aqua? Where's –“

Lea silently closed the door behind him just as his knees gave out and caused him to slide down the wall.

It was Ven all along. No, Ventus. A boy he had met thirteen years ago and apparently forgotten completely when he had met Roxas ten years later.

Couldn't he have introduced himself as 'Ven' back then to save him the trouble? Couldn't Aqua have referred to him by his given name instead of his nickname so he would have had the chance to remember him?

Why did he have to look like Roxas??

His hands started to shake. He dug his fingers into his thighs to try and keep them still.

Why did he have to get his hopes up? Why did he have to entertain the thought of Roxas returning?

He felt the first hot tears run down his cheeks, dripping down his chin onto his shirt.

Why did he have to have a heart? Why couldn't he still be a Nobody, unable to feel the pain and not caring about it either.

“Lea?”

Lea flinched. He hadn't even realized that one of the doors had opened again and Sora apparently had followed him out of the room. Great, now he was to witness how much of a fool he was making of himself.

Before he could say anything in his defense, something soft touched his cheek. He looked up in confusion and realized that Sora was handing him a handkerchief, his glance deliberately focused at another corner of the room to give him some privacy.

He really appreciated it.

Lea gently took the pressed, white piece of cloth that had a tiny 'K' stitched into one of the corners and carefully dabbed at his eyes, determined to remove as many hints to his mental break down as possible before Aqua and Ven appeared, too.

“I'm sorry.”

Lea scoffed. He saw Sora flinch from the corner of his eyes and felt bad about treating the boy the way he was right now, but hell, he was _tired_ and he didn't have it in him to apologize. Not right now when he was feeling like the entire world betrayed him.

“I'll bring him back,” Sora continued and Lea balled his fists up, suppressing his urge to scoff again. Was there _any_ hope to bring a Nobody back while his Somebody was safe and sound? He doubted it. And yet... hearing Sora say it managed to give him a sliver of hope back. The pain in his chest lessened and he was able to breathe a little more easily again.

“I promise you, Lea. I'll bring him back. Him... and her.”

Lea didn't know who Sora meant by 'her', but her mention felt right. It made him feel _whole_.

“Yeah. If anyone can, it'll be you.”


End file.
